Means for preventing fires in tanks, &amp;c.



W. D. OWENS.

MEANS FOR PREVENTING FIRES lN TANKS, 62c.

APPLICATION HLED JUNE 4,1915- 1 213 686 Patenmd Jan. 23, 191?.

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MEANS FOR PREVENTING FIRES IN TANKS, 8m.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4.1915.

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WILLIAM DOUGLAS OWENS,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MEANS FOR PREVENTING FIRES IN TANKS, 850.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

Application filed June 4, 1915. Serial No. 32,041.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM DOUGLAS OwnNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Means for Preventing Fires in Tanks, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The invention relates to apparatus for preventing the spread of fire and is particularly adapted for use in connection with tanks containing an inflammable liquid.

The object of the invention is to automatically draw the liquid from the tank on the occurrence of a-fire and resides particularly in the provision of means for accelerating the outflow through the discharge pipe to more quickly empty the tank. With this end in view a jet of steam is injected into the discharge pipe, upon the opening thereof, in such manner as' to draw the liquid from the tank above and force it through the discharge pipe at greatly increased velocity.

In protecting inflammable contents of tanks from fire it is usual to close the cover over the tank, thus completely inclosing and protecting the liquid. The closing of the cover tightly tends to retard the emptying of the tank by reason'of the vacuum formed. If the cover is loose, the fire may be drawn into the tank. By this invention a tight cover can be used, by providing means for accelerating the discharge while the cover is closed. The discharge valve, the injector, and the cover are controlled by, heat released means such as a fusible link, combustible rope, or the like, so as to simultaneously shut the cover, open the discharge and accelerate the outflow, smothering any fire at the surface of the liquid and quickly emptying the tank without danger of the fire getting inside, or causing an explosion.

Where the tank is provided with a heating jacket the invention also aims to utilize the jacket steam as a supply for the injector by making connection directly from the jacket to the discharge, so that no special supply means are necessary.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are front and side elevations, respectively, of a tank provided with my improvement; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale of a part of the apparatus appearing in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the piping shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a partial vertical section on line 66 of Fig. at, on an enlarged scale, with parts broken away, and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the details illustrated in Fig. 6.

In the drawings, 9 represents a rectangu lar dip tank preferably of metal provided with a cover 10, a steam jacket pipe 11 for heating purposes, a discharge pipe 12 and overflow pipe 13, which latter should be provided at its lower end with a check valve 18 which will be lifted by the discharge to close the pipe 13 and prevent the flow of liquid back into the tank, or the communi cation of the discharge vacuum thereto. The cover 10 is stopped open short of a ver tical position by brackets 14 so that when released it will close by gravity and it is held against the brackets by the tension of the fuse rope 15, looped as at 16, through apertures on the cover. The fuse rope 15 passes over the wheel 17 on abracket attached to the wall and runs through the pulley 1S sustaining the weight 19 whereby the rope is tensioned. Rope 15 then passes over wheel 20 around wheel 21 and through pulley 22 carried by the valve controlling means, to be described, and thence around wheel 23 on a bracket fastened to the wall, and is fastened at its end in any convenient location as by hook near the ceiling.

The rope may be of a material readily breaking when burned and is provided at any desirable points with special fuse links easily parting when overheated. These fuses are shown at 25 in the middle of the cover loop, at 26 between the cover and wheel, and at 27 near its end and it will be apparent that the breaking of the rope or the parting of any of the fuses will relieve the tension of the rope, dropping cover 10 and simultaneously releasing pulley 22 which will open the discharge valves by mechanism about to be described.

The steam pipe 11 is without return and its end is connected by extension 28 to elbow 29 of the main discharge pipe 12 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. lhe steam pipe opens downwardly at an angle into the elbow at the side opposite the pipe 12 thus to direct the steam jet along the lower inclined wall of the elbow past the mouth of the upright 30 connected to the tank, and through inc the discharge pipe 12 clearing said pipe and creating a partial vacuum. in the elbow tending to draw the liquid from the tank. It will be understood that the steam connection to pipe 28 may be made at any suitable point, for example to the supply pipe before entering the coil; or indeed the steam or other power may be taken from an independent source. The hot steam mixing with the liquid from the tank heats the latter so that it will flow more readily and not clog the discharge pipes. in adapting the jacket steam to this new use any desired pressure may be employed; in practice, it is usually found necessary to maintain the pressure some five or six pounds above that required for heating purposes.

To automatically and simultaneously open the tank and steam pipe into the discharge pipe, valves are provided and connected to be operated by a heat released means. In the apparatus shown, pipes 28 and 30 are supplied in advance of the elbow with valves 31 and 32 pivoting on spindles 33 and 34. respectively, mounted in the walls of the pipes. The valves are arranged to open downwardly and away from each other, are Weighted as at 35, 36, at their free ends to insure their dropping'when released, and are releasably held against their seats 37, 38 in pipes 28 and. 30 in any desired manner by means of weighted arm 48. In the structure shown, the valves are held in their seats by shoulders 39 and 40 on the latch members 41 and 42 rigid with spindles 43 and 44 pivoted within recesses in the pipe walls and provided with intermeshing gear teeth 45 and 46 constraining the latches to rotate simultaneously in opposite directions. Counterclockwise rotation of the latch 42 to lower its shoulder 40 will cause a clockwise rotation of latch 41 carrying the shoulders of both latches out of engagement with the valves which will drop open by gravity or under the pressure of the fluids above them. To make this release automatic the spindle 44 of latch 42 is extended outside of the pipe and squared to fit a recess in the hub 47 of arm 48 weighted as at 49 at its free end, and the parts are so arranged that when lever 48 is held horizontal, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, the latches hold the valves seated,

as shown in full lines in Fig. 5. hen the lever arm is allowed to drop, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, the latches are rotated to release the valves which are then free to drop to the positions indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

To hold the lever 48 in the horizontal position under tension of the fuse rope 15, the pulley 22, around which the rope is looped, is mounted on the lever bar 50 curved as at 51 to engage underneath and support the lever 48. The bar 50 is rigidly attached to the horizontal wedge member 52 of the angle arm 53, the vertical extension of which is pivoted at 54 in the socket 55 of an upright 56 on the discharge pipe 12. The socket 55 is provided with a back wall 57 against which the bar 53 is held by the tension of rope 15 around pulley 22, so sustaining the arm50 in a horizontal position and supporting the lever 48 thereby. Release of the tension of the rope will drop cover 10 and allow the arms 50 and 53 to tip around pivot 54 and drop the lever 48 opening the valves 31 and 32 simultaneously with the closing of cover 10.

To operate the device by heat beneath the tank, fuses may be placed in the lower horizontal lengths of the rope 15 and there is provided a fusible connection between the arms 50 and 53. This connection comprises a fuse plate 58 sustained underneath the arm 50 by bolts 59 passing through apertures in the wedge member 52 and through the slot 60 in member 50. The wedge 52 is offset from the vertical extension of arm 53, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the arm 50 when free will be clear of its supporting means. Heated currents of air under the tank or the overheating of arm 50 will soften the fuse plate 58 releasing arm 50, the slot 60 of which will allow it to drop unhampered, relieving the tension on the rope 15 to close the cover and withdrawing the support for the lever 48 to allow it to fall and unlatch the valves which drop open to discharge the contents of the tank. It is therefore apparent that the melting of any of the fuses or any break in the rope 15 will simultaneously close the lid of the tank, open the discharge valve and inject a jet of steam into the discharge pipe to hasten the outflow. By this apparatus a tank can be emptied much more speedily and surely than if gravity alone is relied on, and all danger of the fire spreading into the tank, or igniting possible explosive gases therein, is avoided. Any fire on the surface of the tank will be extinguished immediately.

To reset the apparatus it is only necessary to replace the melted fuse, turn the valves 31 and 32 back against their seats by means of handles 61 and 62 fitted to the squared projecting ends of spindles 33 and 34 and re place the lever 48 in horizontal position on hook 51, thus latching and holding the valves against their seats. The cover may be open or latched in a closed position; in either case, the requisite length of the rope will be provided by the slack supporting Weight 19 and the fuses will all remain connected in series to properly operate the valve opening means and empty the tank.

Various modifications and changes in the specific details herein described may be made Without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, 1

declare that what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In fire prevention apparatus the combination with a tank having a discharge, of an injector nozzle in said discharge and directed to accelerate the outflow therethrough, a source of fluid pressure for said injector nozzle, and heat released means for admitting fluid pressure to said injector nozzle on the occurrence of a fire to accelerate the outflow from said tank.

2. In fire prevention apparatus the combination with a tank having a normally closed discharge of an injector'nozzle in said discharge and directed to accelerate the outflow herethrough, a source of fluid pressure for said injector nozzle, and heat released means for opening said discharge and admitting fluid pressure to said injector nozzle on the occurrence of a fire to accelerate the outflow from said tank.

3. The combination with a tank having a normally open cover and normally closed discharge, of an injector in said discharge, a source oi fluid pressure for said injector, and heat released means for closing said cover, opening said discharge and admitting fluid pressure to the injector to accelerate the outflow from said tank.

4. The combination with a tank having a discharge, of a tank cover normally held in open position, accelerating means for creating a partial vacuum in said discharge to accelerate the outflow therethrough, controlling means :for said accelerating means, and heat released means for simultaneously closing said cover and rendering said accelerating means eflective to create a partial vacuum in the discharge and draw out the contents of said tank.

5. The combination with a tank having a normally closed discharge, of an injector in said discharge, means for supplying fluid under pressure to heat said reservoir and connected to said injector, and heat released means for opening said discharge and admitting said fluid pressure to said injector to accelerate the discharge of said tank.

6. The combination of a tank having a discharge, a valve closing said discharge, an injector opening into said discharge, a valve closing said injector, said valves being interconnected, and heat released means for simultaneously opening both of said valves.

7. The combination of a tank having a discharge, a valve closing said discharge, an injector opening into said discharge, a valve closing said injector, means normally holding said valves closed against the fluid pressure, and heat released means for controlling said valve holding means.

8. The combination of a tank having a discharge, a cover, a valve closing said discharge, an injector opening into said discharge, a valve closing said injector, means normally holding the cover open and said valves closed against the fluid pressure, and heat released means for controlling said valve holding means and releasing the cover.

9. The combination with a tank having a discharge, of a source of fluid pressure connected thereto for accelerating the outflow through said discharge, means for controlling said fluid pressure, and heat released means controlling said fluid pressure controlling means.

10. The combination with a tank having a discharge, of a source of fluid pressure connected thereto for accelerating the outflow through said discharge, heat released means for opening said discharge, and means controlled by said opening means for rendering said fluid pressure accelerating means effective.

11. The combination with a tank having a cover and a discharge, of fluid pressure means connected to said tank for accelerating the outflow through said discharge and heatreleased means for closing said cover and controlling said accelerating means.

In testimony whereof I afflx my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM DOUGLAS OWENS.

Witnesses JosErH D. CONNOLLY, Jr, F. A. Bowen.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

